Hypertension and ischemic heart disease: the challenge of the 1990s

The latest estimates suggest that high blood pressure (hypertension) affects 60 million individuals, but only 30 million are aware of their problem and just 6 million receive proper treatment. In short, hypertension is a major health concern that is not always easily identified or treated. Although the cause of hypertension is still unknown in most cases, it has been established that the arterial system is primarily affected, which includes arteries of the brain, kidney, and retina. A classic sign of hypertension is left ventricular hypertrophy (enlargement) of the heart. Hypertension has been associated with the development of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, and may increase the incidence of fatal heart attacks. Two other factors, gender and smoking, influence the incidence of coronary problems; men who smoke experience the highest number of coronary events, whereas nonsmoking women report the fewest number. An unexpected problem of treating hypertension is determining the lowest limit for blood pressure before complications due to ischemia (insufficient blood supply to the heart) develop. Furthermore, other serious preexisting conditions such as diabetes, kidney or lung diseases, may determine or complicate possible courses of drug treatment for hypertension. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)